I felt that way about the Tremec 5spd in my 2008. I freakin' HATED it!! I couldn't get a clean shift for anything and when it was cold it was subject to "cold clash" like many others have experienced. It was total crap IMO and it WASN'T because I didn't know how to shift (I've owned three other manual Mustangs over the years and they all....except for maybe my 65 with the 3 speed....shifted MUCH smoother and quicker than the Tremec).

I traded my 2008 for a 2010 automatic; the main reason was that I hated the 5 speed so much. If I ever get rid of the 2010 it will be for another automatic. I enjoy driving a manual transmission but Ford has really f-d up the new ones.

 

I guess that brings up another question for me. I've never driven a 5 or 6 speed auto for any length of time, and hadn't really given them much though for a Mustang, until now. I did drive an '11 v6 with the auto and 3.31 and was pleasantly surprised at the punch. Based on the lurking I've done here, I guess the autos are even more fun once you've gotten a tune on these cars, so are they good enough to make me not miss doing it myself with a 5-speed manual?

 

Manual for sure, my 6spd is fine, yes it needs to warm up like most manuals.

 

6 speeds are closer gears so they need to be shifted faster or the revs drop too much between gears to engage smoothly. My previous vehicle had a 6 speed and I would start in second quite often if possible, usually skipping third going straight to fourth. If I didn't I would usually either wind out 1st and shift straight to 4th or 5th, or I would skip second. These made everything quite a bit smoother. None of this is any more annoying than shifting first to second, second to third, etc. once you get used to it.

 

The clutch on my '11 is one of the lightest I've driven. That said, it does engage rather suddenly takes a pretty fine touch to have smooth shifts when driving normally. I've gotten used to it, but sometimes still if i'm not paying much attention to the shifting, the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts can be kinda jerky. I wonder how much an aftermarket clutch would affect things.

 

When I went to the dealer to test drive the 6spd. the salesman said they did not shift smoothly under "normal" driving conditions and often jerked you a little bit, which he did a good 4 or 5 times. When I first got behind the wheel, I noticed a slight jerk if I let the clutch out too fast the first couple shifts, but once I started to ease the clutch a bit slower, the shifts were nice and smooth and you barely even felt them. Every trans/clutch setup is a little different and therefore requires that you modify your driving habits.

 

The main thing I notice with a 6-speed is that the gear ratios are so much closer together that you really need less "pause" on the upshift and a smaller throttle-blip on the downshifts. I will say that the closeness of the gates would take a couple days to get used to, coming from a 5-speed every day... Oh, and get a kit to eliminate the skip-shift!

 

you don't need a kit, you can just disconnect the skip shift connector under the car, won't set a tell-tale lamp either.

 

I have the same problem with my '05... if you ask me, the problem is with the "drive-by-wire" throttle. It just makes me feel completely disconnected from what the engine/trans are doing. Besides my 'stang, I have a '65 427 Cobra roadster (replica) with over 600 hp that is SO much easier to drive smoothly, despite the MUCH stiffer clutch.

 

Ah...gotcha. I guess I was thinking of how they have to have a kit to eliminate the skip shift on the Vettes...